"Tale of Bygone Years" is the oldest of the officially recognized chronicles.
The controversy about Nestor and whether he wrote it is still going on.
Reading Nestor
I do not think that I will violate the copyright of the chronicle if I post a link to it.
So, we will talk about the year 6406th.
When the Slavs were already baptized, their princes Rostislav, Svyatopolk and Kotsel sent them to Tsar Mikhail, saying: Our land is baptized, but we do not have a teacher who would instruct and teach us and explain the holy books. After all, we do not know any Greek language., nor Latin, some teach us this way, and others differently, from this we do not know either the outline of the letters or their meaning. And send us teachers who could interpret the words of the book and their meaning to us.
Hearing this, Tsar Michael summoned all the philosophers and conveyed to them everything said by the Slavic princes. And the philosophers said: “There is a husband in Seluni named Lev. He has sons who know the Slavic language; his two sons are skilled philosophers. " Hearing about this, the king sent for them to Leo in Selun, with the words: "Send your sons Methodius and Constantine to us without delay."
Promotional video:
Hearing about this, Leo soon sent them, and they came to the king, and he said to them: "Behold, the Slavic land sent ambassadors to me, asking for a teacher who could interpret the sacred books for them, for this is what they want." And the king persuaded them, and sent them to the Slavic land to Rostislav, Svyatopolk and Kotsel. When (these brothers) came, they began to compose the Slavic alphabet and translated the Apostle and the Gospel. And the Slavs were glad that they heard about the greatness of God in their own language. Then the Psalter and the Octoichus and other books were translated. Some began to blaspheme Slavic books, saying that "no nation should have its own alphabet, except for the Jews, Greeks and Latins, according to the inscription of Pilate, who wrote on the cross of the Lord only in these languages."
Nestor writes that there were two peasants from Seluni who knew the Slavic language and were sent to compose the Slavic alphabet in order to translate the Apostle and the Gospel to the local Apostle and the Gospel, as no one knows Greek and Latin and “from this we do not know either the outline of the letters or their meaning.
On wikipedia:
“The first translations of the Bible into Russian were published at the beginning of the 19th century. Prior to this, only Church Slavonic translations of the Bible, dating back to the translation works of Cyril and Methodius, were used in church and household use. By the decree of Empress Elizabeth in 1751, a thoroughly revised Church Slavonic Bible was published, the so-called Elizabethan Bible (work on this edition was started back in 1712 by decree of Peter I) … In 1815, after returning from abroad, Emperor Alexander I ordered "to provide the Russians with a way to read the Word of God in their natural Russian language …"
Only in 1876, already under Alexander II, the complete Russian Bible was first published.
The clergy itself did not allow the release of sacred texts to the people. It was believed that the Bible should be in the hands of the clergy and that the people should not be allowed to read and study it on their own. It is understandable for those who read the Bible.
Let's rewind. The clergy are terribly opposed to the Slavs being able to read the Bible on their own.
At least from 1712 to 1876, sabotage work is underway to blur this business. 164 years from the decree of Peter, allegedly fearing another church schism or, if someone likes it, then 61 years from the decree of Alexander the first to translate everything into Russian, allegedly wanting everything to be meticulously and as accurately as possible in translation.
But, from the beginning, Methodius and Constantine are sent to the Slavs to translate the texts. Moreover, the Slavs already live baptized, that is, they believed in Christ and perform church rituals, but, due to ignorance of other languages, they did not read the Bible, and they did not just read it, but it turns out nonsense - they did not know anything about Christ really, because they ask Tsar Michael send at least someone "to interpret the words of the book and their meaning."
One could assume that someone who knew the Bible could preach it to the Slavs, but then what does it mean "… Our land is baptized, but we do not have a teacher …"?
If no one had preached her Word before, then how could Russia be baptized? And who are these "… some teach us this way, and others differently …"
Official version
It is interesting to note that "… even before baptism (988) in Russia there were churches and the Bible was read in the translation of the brothers-apostles …" into what language was it translated and read from what alphabet "even before baptism"?
The chronology is complete as follows:
1. The Bible of Cyril and Methodius [885] - Translations of Cyril and Methodius were widely disseminated among the Slavic tribes, including Russia.
2. Gennady Bible [1499] - Some books of the Gennadiy Bible were borrowed from the Bible translated by Cyril and Methodius, and from translations into Russian made in the 15th century, others from the Bulgarian translation, and several books were translated from Latin for the first time … Gennady's Bible is considered the first complete Slavic Bible.
3. Maxim the Greek (Explanatory Psalter) [1552] - A large number of errors have accumulated in the manuscript books of the Bible. Therefore, in the first half of the 16th century, an attempt was made in Moscow to correct church books.
4. The first printed "Apostle" [1564] and the Ostrog Bible by Ivan Fedorov [1581]. - Ivan Fedorov, together with Peter Mstislavets, began the creation of the first printed book "Apostle" (Acts of the Apostles and Epistles)
5. Moscow first printed Bible [1663] - Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered to send several educated monks to correct the Russian Bible according to Greek copies, which, together with Nikon's innovations, leads to a schism in the Church, by the way.
6. Peter's-Elizabethan Bible [1751]
7. New Testament of the Russian Bible Society [1821] - It was decided to start translating the Bible into modern Russian, but in 1825 Alexander I died, and work on the translation was suspended until 1856.
8. And finally, the Synodal Translation of the Bible [1876] - the Holy Synod adopted a resolution to begin the translation of the Bible into Russian.
Learn more about the history of Bible translation.
Discrepancies in the official version
Cyril / Constantine and Methodius "began to compose the Slavic alphabet and translated the Apostle and the Gospel," but they translated and compiled them in such a way that the Slavs still could not read this, this is understandable. And it's ridiculous to talk about widespread among the tribes, because it is precisely in the idea that only the elect, in this case, the clergy, can carry the Word of the Lord and this was diligently observed all the time until 1876. And even after that, and in our days, since the church stubbornly mumbles services in the Old Church language, allegedly of Cyril and Methodius, but in fact it turns out in the language of the educated, as it were from Greek.
Hence, many authors deduce the idea that Constantine and Methodius invented a special church language. On which all services are still running.
By the way, churchmen believe that the Russian language was formed by the Church Slavonic language!
So, if Cyril and Methodius were creating an alphabet that was really understandable, then there would be no need to translate into Russian as well as to diligently postpone the translation into the normal language of the Bible.
And here is an obvious substitution. Not Russian from Old Church Slavonic, but the alphabet of Constantine and Methodius from Russian. Moreover, the problem, if these guys really existed once in history, could not have been in inventing the alphabet for stupid Rus, but in the introduction of a language understandable only to a minority, making it difficult for the majority to familiarize themselves with the Bible.
And according to Nestor, even this caused a lot of discontent, because "no nation should have its own alphabet, except for Jews, Greeks and Latins."
Life of Konstantin Kirill
"… For Rostislav, the Moravian prince, instructed by God, having consulted with the princes and Moravans, sent to Tsar Michael to say:" Our people rejected paganism and followed the Christian teaching, but we do not have such a teacher who would explain the Christian faith to us in our language, so that other countries, seeing this, become like us. Send us, Vladyka, a bishop and such a teacher. After all, a good law always comes from you to all countries "…"
"… The Caesar gathered advice, summoned Constantine the Philosopher and gave him to listen to these words. And he said:" Philosopher, I know that you are tired, but it is fitting for you to go there. After all, no one else can do this business as you do. ": “And tired in body and sick with joy I will go there if they have writing for their language.” The Caesar said to him: “My grandfather and my father and many others tried to find them, but did not find them. So how can I find it? " And the Philosopher said: "Who can record a conversation on the water or would like to acquire the nickname of a heretic?" The Caesar answered him again, and with Varda, his uncle: “If you want, then God can give you what he gives to everyone who asks, no doubt, and opens to everyone who knocks.” The Philosopher went and, according to his former custom, turned to prayer together with other helpers, and soon God appeared to him, listening to the prayers of his servants. And then he drew up the letters and began to write the Gospel words: "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and God was the word" and so on …"
Going deeper into the topic, it turns out that there is not even a firm opinion on who these guys Cyril and Methodius were. Either Slavs, or Greeks, or Bulgarians. And Cyril is not Cyril but Constantine, but Methodius (Methodius - in Greek "following the trail", "looking for") - Michael. But, who cares.
Here is what is important: "My grandfather and my father and many others tried to find them, but did not find them." says Tsar Michael about the Slavic alphabet. Is this true? We climb back to Wikipedia about such a question as "Glagolitic".
Glagolitic
“Glagolitsa is one of the first Slavic alphabet. It is assumed that it was the Slavic educator St. Constantine (Cyril) Philosopher for recording church texts in the Old Church Slavonic language.
Oops! This means that the Glagolitic alphabet was created for recording church texts! For those who are not in the subject, I recommend to see how it looked:
Correct me if the Glagolitic alphabet is somehow sideways similar to Greek or at least some well-known language. Is that the letters "Yat" and "Shta" are the same as in the Slavic alphabet. And if Cyril and Methodius created the Glagolitic, then why does our Church not adhere to the Glagolitic? And how, tell me, did the Glagolitic alphabet pass into the letters we know, for example, the way Nestor wrote?
This whole version of the appropriation of someone else's self, which is ubiquitous by these comrades, those who like to take everything from Adam, is bursting at the seams.
Even Wikipedia is unable to support this nonsense and continues to write
"A number of facts indicate that the Glagolitic alphabet was created before the Cyrillic alphabet, and that in turn was created on the basis of the Glagolitic alphabet and the Greek alphabet."
Well, well, well! Wait, not so fast. Either Vasya or not Vasya! It's like “my grandfather and my father and many others tried to find them, but did not find them,” says Tsar Michael, but at the same time, Cyril and Methodius compose the Slavic alphabet based on the Glagolitic alphabet? Suddenly found?
It could be assumed that the Glagolitic alphabet has nothing to do with the Slavs, and just like the Greek alphabet for some reason was taken as the basis for writing the Slavic alphabet. But this version does not roll, since the Glagolitic alphabet is actually the modern Russian language! Having learned the symbols, you can read these texts quite tolerably, since the words there are Russian / Slavic. Just try at least the title of the Zograf Gospel, which is above, to translate using this table - you will see for yourself - the Russian text.
I really have one more assumption that the Glagolitic alphabet is based on the Slavic language as, for example, the church crypto-language and was widespread among a narrow group of Slavs, such as the Bulgarians, but never received widespread use.
Features and cuts
In the Ryazan Museum, I saw with my own eyes a sinker from a spindle on which these features were written that the sinker belongs to such and such.
That is, the spinner, or whoever she was there, in ancient times in old Ryazan signed her things, which means that other spinners should also be able to read! The spinners sat down to spin yarn in one hut, worked, sang songs, well, so that the next day someone would not steal their goods, or just not to look, they signed where whose. If the spinning wheels themselves have a different pattern, and are noticeable by eye, then it was not stupid to sign the little things.
If Cyril and Methodius did not write the Slavic language from scratch, then Nestor either slightly rasped or concocted in advance not a chronicle but a dummy, and maybe not even he.
Why is there such a stubborn rejection of even the acceptance of the possibility of the existence of writing in Russia and a passionate desire to derive the Russian alphabet from the Greek? Didn't Nestor accidentally let it slip here by pointing out that "No nation should have its own alphabet, except for Jews, Greeks and Latins."